An Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) preliminary report on the Baramati plane crash that killed former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has confirmed that there were visibility problems when it landed. The report released on Saturday also revealed that on the day of the accident, January 28, 2026, the ATC tower was manned by a ground instructor from one of the Flight Training Organizations (FTOs) that conducts flight training in the airspace.
The report also states that the last re-carpeting of the runway was in March 2016 and no re-carpeting was carried out after that, resulting in the fading of all runway markings and the presence of loose gravel on the runway surface.
“On the day of the accident, the tower was manned by a ground instructor from one of the FTOs who communicated with the aircraft to assist in the landing. The VT-SSK crew requested visibility on the approach to Baramati, to which the tower replied 3,000 meters by looking at the visibility markers. Further, when giving the clearance to land, the tower advised that the aircraft landing below Barti was calm. The minimum required for a VFR flight, which is 5,000 meters (5 km), the AAIB report said.
Ajit Pawar plane crash
The preliminary AAIB report comes days after Ajit Pawar, among five others, died in the crash of a VT-SSK Learjet 45 in Baramati.
The 66-year-old was scheduled to attend four key public meetings that day.
The accident took place on the morning of January 28 when the NCP leader was flying to his hometown to address public meetings ahead of the Zilla Parishad polls.
What did the AAIB report reveal?
The AAIB report stated the following in its preliminary report:
— Both the pilots including First Officer (FO) Sambhavi Pathak and Pilot in Command (PIC) Sumit Kapur had flown to Baramati earlier and were aware of the topography of the airport.
– Pathak and Kapur had previous experience in operating a number of VIP flights and other flights to non-controlled airports (including Baramati).
– The last runway carpet repair was carried out in March 2016 and the runway has not been repaired since then, resulting in the fading of all runway markings and the presence of loose gravel on the runway surface.
— Baramati Airport is an unmanned airport and has no navigational aids except windsocks. Two wind sleeves are installed at the airport, both located on the runway 29 side.
